


At The Turn Of The Wheel

by ingberry



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Bars and Pubs, F/F, Families of Choice, Magical Realism, Witches, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:44:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9227408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingberry/pseuds/ingberry
Summary: Mithian was as surprised as anyone thatr/witchesturned out to be a helpful and accurate resource on magical communities in Britain. It had certainly panned out better than BuzzFeed’s12 Places Witches Need to Experience-article that had only sent her to crowded and charmless trend-spots. And she sure as heck hadn’t braved Craigslist since she ended up staying in that commune that was absurdly obsessed with blood magic.This was how she ended up in front of a pub with an elaborate sign that saidThe Changelingin ornate, gold letters.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cerch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerch/gifts).



> **side pairings:** Vivian/Sophia, Merlin/Arthur  
>  \-----
> 
> CERCH! Happy holidays to you, even though it's currently January and the holidays are fairly behind us at this point. 
> 
> I had such a fun time with your prompts and ideas, and I was like "I'm going to make something totally different for once!" and somehow here I am with the pub/coffeeshop/etc AU again just with added accessories, but no matter! I ran with the modern witches and the magical realism because yes yes yes!
> 
> Thanks to the usual suspect for looking this over for me and always being a great sounding board and for very gently and quietly yelling at me for using an unnecessary epithet, i appreciate u <3
> 
> Also thanks to V who was the one who finally put me on the right path with this story even though she may not even know she did it

_Yule_

“You’re gonna leave, aren’t you?” 

Mithian jerked in surprise and looked over her shoulder at Vivian holding a mug of mulled wine. She hadn’t even noticed that Vivian was missing from the table, even as keenly as Mithian had been watching them from the shadowed corner by the door. 

“Yeah, I suppose.” Mithian shrugged and folded her arms over her chest. “I mean, that was always the plan.”

“Plans change.”

“Not mine.”

Vivian gave her an intent look. “You know she thinks you might stay. At least make it clear that you’re not.”

“She knows I never planned to stay long,” Mithian said and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Besides, I’m just someone she’s been helping out, and I’ve been occupying her guest room for far too long anyway.”

Vivian’s eyes were wide as she searched Mithian’s face. Finally, she shook her head and said, “Oh my god.”

Mithian watched her go, feeling oddly unsettled and weird about the approach of the new moon. She always left on a new moon – new starts, fresh magic. Leaving had always felt like a cleanse, like a relief, like planting a new seed in the garden. But looking at the people gathered around the table decorated in red, green and white for Yule, she felt doubt for the first time since she left home at sixteen. 

She didn’t know them that well. Not really. And still she couldn’t quite stop looking at them: Vivian pouring the mulled wine into Merlin’s cup as she flashed a small, private smile at Sophia; Arthur stubbornly pushing the only Christmas cracker at the table towards Merlin; Elena laughing, her face bright and open. 

A moment later, too soon for Mithian to be at all prepared, Elena said, “Hey, where did Mithian go?” and Mithian waited a moment before she pushed out of her safe, shadowed corner and joined the table across from Elena. Elena’s blinding smile made her hands shake when she reached for her drink. 

*

_Early November_

Mithian was as surprised as anyone that _r/witches_ turned out to be a helpful and accurate resource on magical communities in Britain. It had certainly panned out better than BuzzFeed’s _12 Places Witches Need to Experience_ -article that had only sent her to crowded and charmless trend-spots. And she sure as heck hadn’t braved Craigslist since she ended up staying in that commune that was absurdly obsessed with blood magic. 

Her first dip into _r/witches_ ’s extensive list of communities in Britain had sent her to a picturesque Welsh village where she’d been able to rent a homey little cottage with lovely, quiet neighbours who invited her in for tea and helped her perfect gardening spells, but never asked too many questions. When she reached for it again, it had led her to a shared beach house in Tynemouth where the magic of the ocean had settled into the walls. The sound of waves breaking lulled her to sleep and woke her up every morning.

She was craving the city again. Even though the search for her place within it had never quite worked out, the pull of it eventually became impossible to resist. She kept coming back and leaving it just as predictably as the waves breaking on the beach. 

The _r/witches_ list avoided the most crowded magical neighbourhoods in London, listing only a handful of places, none of which Mithian had ever been to. It was how she ended up in front of a pub with an elaborate sign that said _The Changeling_ in ornate, gold letters. The pub was at the heart of an intersection of streets, all four of them meeting in the open area in front of the building. 

The almost eerie quiet outside the pub didn’t prepare her for the rush of activity inside and for a moment she froze as the door slammed shut behind her. Almost every table was occupied, patrons chatting loudly. The wall opposite the entrance was covered in ivy, interspersed with a variety of magical flowers that Mithian had only seen in _Johnson's Compendium of Magical Herbs and Flowers_. 

She took an uncertain step forwards and was nearly barrelled to the ground by a girl who only just managed to shift out of Mithian’s way with a complicated shuffle of her feet. The girl shot her a crooked smile before she stepped behind the bar and promptly tripped straight into a broad-shouldered guy pouring drinks. He didn’t even flinch as he held her up with one arm and saved the drinks with the other. The girl pulled a face at him as she steadied herself, and for a moment the two of them looked like golden-haired subjects of a renaissance painting. 

As she slid onto a bar stool, a quiet thrum of magic settled around her. It was a pleasant little tremor, bright and warm, and she immediately felt more at ease. There was something unbearably pure about the magic of this place. 

“So, what trouble did you land yourself in, then?” 

Mithian turned, caught off guard. 

“Love potion gone awry?” The girl was leaning over the bar with a cheeky grin, hands clasped in front of her. 

Mithian raised an eyebrow. “Do I look thirteen?” 

The girl’s smile turned amused and she looked Mithian up and down, gaze lingering. Mithian rubbed at the hem of her shirt.

Tipping her head to the side, the girl said, “You don’t look cursed.”

“Well, that’s a blessing.”

“Oh!” The girl laughed. “I’m sorry, I just assumed. We don’t get a lot of new people around here unless they’re looking for Merlin.”

Mithian paused. “Should I be? Looking for Merlin?”

“Merlin is our resident cleaner. Whatever magical issue you’ve got, he’ll fix it. Well, except mine.” She shrugged. “I’m Elena, I own the pub.”

“Mithian. I’m not. Looking for Merlin, that is. Just travelling.” Mithian leaned onto her crossed arms on the bar. “What’s yours?”

“What’s mine?”

“Magical issue. Unless I shouldn’t ask—sorry, I—”

“Oh.” Elena rolled her eyes, pressing her palm to her forehead. “I can’t even keep up with myself, seriously. I managed to literally roll around in fairy dust on Samhain. You should feel blessed that I haven’t already poured coffee all over you or accidentally punched you in the eye.”

Mithian smiled. “That truly was an impressive dodge you did earlier.”

“Weeks of practise. Unfortunately, it only works, like, 40% of the time.” 

“Must be good for business,” Mithian said. “I mean, tending a bar and all.”

Elena let out a breath. “The budget for glassware is definitely up from last year. I’m mostly sending Arthur out with them, though.” Elena gestured towards the guy behind her and lowered her voice. “I’m pretty sure Merlin is holding out on me because he likes to see Arthur suffer.”

“So he doesn’t usually work here, then?”

“God no, he hates it. Isn’t even magic, this one, and he doesn’t understand good-natured teasing. Thinks everyone hates him.”

“Jesus, Elena—for the last time, I don’t think everyone hates me,” Arthur said as he passed with a round of drinks. “Just Mordred and Gilli and the rest of that lot, because they do, in fact, hate me.”

Elena laughed as he left, shaking her head. When he was out of earshot, she leaned towards Mithian and said, “They do, actually, though.”

“Because he’s not a witch?”

“Oh, no, because Mordred wants to bang his boyfriend.”

Mithian bit her lip in an effort not to laugh. 

“Can I get you anything, by the way?” Elena said, gesturing vaguely at the bar. 

“I think maybe I’ll wait until Arthur gets back.”

“Wow. The _betrayal_.” Elena held a hand to her heart, lips parted in an expression of mock surprise. 

“Hey,” Mithian said, running her finger over a deep groove in the worn wood of the bar. “I think I could help you. With your problem.”

Elena’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah. I do a lot of potions work, actually. I travel around and live in different areas, and I usually pay for rent and such with potions.”

“Oh my god, whatever you need in return.” A serious expression had passed over Elena’s face, her eyes intent. “I live upstairs and I have a spare room. You can stay as long as you like.”

“I don’t want to put you out or anything,” Mithian said. “Only if you have the space, you know.”

“I do! Absolutely. It’s not a large flat, but there’s a guest room that’s all yours if you need it.”

“That’d be great. I usually don’t stay too long in one place, so I’ll be out of your hair soon, anyway. But you can always just let me know when you want the place to yourself again.”

“Are you kidding? I love having roommates.” Elena pushed away from the bar and led Mithian upstairs.

The guest room was small, but warm and comfortable, with a large quilted throw on the bed that sat in the middle of the room. There was a small circular window on the right side of the bed, and enough space for the few possessions Mithian had. Elena left her to sort herself out before promptly falling down the stairs, yelling, “I’m fine!”

*

“Vivian is YouTube famous.” 

“That,” Vivian said and rolled her eyes, “is an absolute lie.” 

Mithian looked up from where she was crushing thyme for her fairy dust antidote on the bar and met Elena’s eyes. Elena smiled crookedly and shook her head.

“It’s the honest truth. You’re like the 3rd most popular magic account in Britain!”

“That doesn’t make me _famous_.”

“It does a little,” said Sophia as she rubbed Vivian’s arm consolingly. “People keep pestering you about going to Magic in the City.”

Vivian’s expression softened as she turned to Sophia. “You know I don’t do meet ups.”

“But you should. People want to see you, babe.”

“And I don’t want to see people.” Vivian reached up to wrap her long, blonde hair into a bun. “That’s the reason I started talking to a camera in the first place, Soph. If I wanted to talk to people, I’d do, like, seminars.”

“Hey, you should bring Mithian in to do a potions segment,” Elena said, and then gave a hearty, “Oh bugger” as she knocked three glasses to the floor. 

“What’s your channel about?” Mithian asked, hoping it wasn’t abundantly clear that she knew fuck all about YouTube. 

“Just day to day magic things. Spellwork, mostly.”

Elena popped up from behind the bar, hands full of broken glass. “Sophia does a segment on emoji spells, she’s ace at them.”

Mithian raised an eyebrow. “Emoji spells?”

“Yeah, just small little things you can send to others,” Sophia said. “Or for yourself, if you want.”

“She always sends us ones for luck and happiness and stuff, it’s great.” Elena waved at a couple that entered, shaking water from their drenched clothes. “Lately she’s tried to send me some anti-clumsiness spells and you know, I honestly feel like it’s been a little better. I’ve only fallen down the stairs that one time.”

Sophia flipped over a page in the book she had open on the bar. “A potions segment sounds pretty cool, though, Viv. What kind of potions do you do?”

“Oh, anything, really,” Mithian said. “Little healing ones for day to day use, luck potions, relaxation draughts. I don’t have a great access to herbs here, though, so I’m a little more restricted.”

Elena held up her hand in apology as the newcomers approached the bar and she chatted brightly with them about the dreadful weather and how weather spells never seemed to work properly this time of year. When they returned to their table, she said, “Merlin could help you with herbs, you know. He knows all the places because of his Uncle Gaius.”

Mithian smiled. “That would be pretty great.” 

“I’ll get him to fill you in.”

“Where’s Arthur today, by the way?” Mithian asked. 

“Sunday is his day off because it’s also Merlin’s day off. I try to keep the place going with only very minor disasters.” 

Elena laughed, as if remembering something, and Vivan groaned.

“Last Sunday she set fire to one of the tables and we don’t even know _how_ because there weren’t any actual flames anywhere near her.”

“Don’t look so alarmed,” Elena said, eyes bright when she saw Mithian’s expression. “You’re here to save me, right?”

“Sure, in about 2-3 weeks.”

“I swear, I’ll only start, like, 3 fires in that time. It’s completely fine.” 

Mithian was unable to stop herself from smiling in return. 

*

_Still November_

“Tea?” Elena asked, holding out a steaming cup. “I blessed it for you.”

The wind was raging outside, the November weather as dreary as Mithian could ever remember it being. She accepted the cup and curled further up into Elena’s sofa, a blanket wrapped around her legs to keep warm. 

“I’ve been watching Vivian’s videos,” she admitted as Elena settled into the opposite corner with her own cup.

Elena beamed. “They’re good, right?”

“She’s surprisingly… personable.” 

“As long as Vivian doesn’t have to deal with people directly, she’s great with them.”

“That seems like a big caveat.”

Elena shrugged. “She’s made it work, somehow! Plus, Sophia always checks her videos and edits out all the sass.”

“Why don’t you have a segment?” Mithian asked, sipping at her peppermint tea. 

“About what?” Elena raised her eyebrow. “Bartending?” 

“I mean, you’re a witch. Surely you have your thing?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. I just do a little bit here, and a little bit there.” 

Elena pushed her hair away from her face and leaned her cheek against the back of the sofa. 

“This tea is amazing,” Mithian said. She could feel her limbs relaxing, tension seeping out of her body. 

“It’s magic.”

“Is it really?” Mithian smiled crookedly. 

“Mmm. My mum always said nothing’s more magical than food.”

“Where are you from, anyway?”

“Up north,” Elena said. “Too large house with no people in it to speak of. You?”

“Cornwall.”

Elena hummed. “And you still call that home?”

“Oh. No.” Mithian took several sips of tea, not quite knowing how to keep going. “Found out I was a witch at sixteen. Left home. Been travelling around the country ever since. Lived a bit here, a bit there. I like it.”

“Don’t you ever get tired?”

Mithian shook her head. “Tired? No, not really. I mean, I stay however long I feel like it and then at some point it just feels right to leave again, you know. And every place has something new to offer me.”

“I don’t think I ever could. I’ve always needed to have a home.”

Mithian tilted her head slightly, watching Elena’s face. 

“It’s why I started the pub, I guess?” Elena continued when Mithian stayed quiet. “Lots of people around, people who kind of become this large family, right? It’s just nice. I like belonging somewhere.”

“It’s a nice place.”

“Thank you!” Elena gave her a genuinely grateful smile. “Stay as long as you like. It’s good to have someone in the flat too, to be honest. Not as quiet after everyone’s gone home.”

“Don’t you ever just want peace and quiet?”

“Not really. I don’t see the point in that.”

“To hear yourself think.”

Elena’s eyebrows knitted together. “We must have some fundamentally different thoughts, mine just scream above all the general chatter. I don’t need quiet to hear these babies.” She tapped the side of her head. 

*

“I hear you’re a potions fiend.” Merlin dropped down into the seat next to her by the bar, long fingers tapping at the worn wooden surface. “What can you do?”

“Listing it all would take a while,” Mithian said, eyebrows raised. 

His face broke into a crooked smile and he was about to speak when he turned away from her, his face lighting up. “Hey, you.” 

Arthur leaned into him and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Hey. Kind of busy here today, I’ll see you later?”

“Sure. I’ll just ogle you from afar like everyone else does.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and left, but Mithian swore his hips were swinging more than usual. 

“What do you need?” 

“Who says I need anything?” Merlin asked, looking the picture of innocence. 

“I don’t know, you quizzing me about potions seems like a solid hint.”

Merlin grinned and pulled a vial out of his inner pocket. “Can you separate out ingredients?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Mithian said and reached for it, only to have Merlin pull back.

“Without tasting it.”

“What?”

“Someone was cursed by this. I need to know what’s in it.”

“Fuck,” she said, looking at the small, unassuming vial. “I can try.”

“Only if you promise me you’ll be careful, or Elena will probably have my head on a plate and I’m just too young to die that way.”

Mithian rolled her eyes. “I’ll be careful.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“If you can get me into contact with some ingredient suppliers, we’ll call it even.”

“I feel like you’re selling yourself short there, but I can definitely fix that.”

*

_Early December_

Mithian abruptly became aware that her eyes were stinging. It had gotten pitch dark since she last paid attention and she rubbed her hand over her eyes. 

“Are you still working on that?” Elena said, and Mithian realised Elena’s creaking steps must have been what broke through her focus. “It’s like two a.m.”

“Yeah, I just feel like I’m getting closer. Hard to stop.”

Elena sat down next to Mithian on the floor by the chest under the window, peering skeptically at the cursed potion where a small pool of it was spread out across Mithian’s cutting board. 

“I hope you’re planning to throw that out, or I’m fairly sure you’re going to poison everyone.” 

“Oh god. No, I’ll throw it out, along with everything that’s touched that thing.” She poked at the potion with her cutting knife. “Whoever made this is either a genius or a complete idiot.”

Elena laughed, and Mithian looked up at her, smiling. She tensed when she noticed dark bruising around Elena’s right eye. 

“What happened?” Mithian said, her hand twitching in an aborted move to reach out. 

“What?” Elena looked confused for a moment. “Oh, this.” She pressed two fingers to the edge of her bruise. “Tripped on a chair and hit the table on the way down. It’s fine, I just wasn’t paying attention.”

Elena didn’t meet her eyes as she wrapped her hands around her knees, shrugging. Guilt surged in Mithian’s chest. She was supposed to finish the antidote to the fairy dust, and instead she’d been side-tracked by the poison, wrapped up in the challenge of figuring it out. The antidote was almost finished, even, and here Mithian was letting Elena struggle against the fairy dust like it didn’t even matter. 

“I’ve got some healing potions that might help.” Mithian rose from the floor and leafed through the small collection of potions she always carried with her. She found one more bottle of the healing potion at the back of the pack. 

She dropped to her knees next to Elena, said, “Here, let me,” and tilted Elena’s head backwards with a hand at her jaw. Opening the vial one-handed without much difficulty, she heated a dollop of it between her fingers and carefully spread it across Elena’s bruised skin. Elena’s breath caught and Mithian muttered, “sorry,” as she tried to ease the pressure of her fingers. 

Elena wet her lips and said, “no, it’s fine.” 

“You always say that.”

“It’s always true.”

Giving her a dubious look, Mithian spread another layer of potion over the bruise, fingers brushing softly across the corner of Elena’s eye. Their eyes met for a brief moment and Mithian paused, her stomach flipping in such an uncomfortable way that she immediately pulled away and sat back. 

“It should be better by tomorrow,” she said, surprised at how steady her voice was. 

*

“Seriously?” Elena said, eyes wide as she looked up at Mithian. 

“All done. Finished it this morning.” Mithian held out the vial of bright orange potion.  
Elena straightened and pushed her hair away from her face, her cheeks slightly red from bustling around the pub. She didn’t reach out for the potion, though. 

“I made backups,” Mithian said. “You can take this. And break it. Heck, you can break five more!”

“I just can’t believe you finished it this fast.” Elena finally took the vial and peered down at it. “I thought it’d take at least a few more weeks!” 

“Well, getting access to good ingredients really helped.”

There was no way Mithian was going to tell her that she’d taken a complete break from the cursed potion to finish the antidote. 

“Wow. So if I drink this, it’ll all just be fine?”

Mithian shrugged. “Yeah. It’s like magic.” She wiggled her fingers and then tried to duck out of the way when Elena punched her in the arm. 

“It’s just surreal, alright?” Elena studied the potion, the stack of glasses she’d been collecting left forgotten on the table. “I’ve been all fairy-dusted up for weeks. I forgot what it’s like to have actual control of limbs.”

“Hey,” Mithian said. “You should forget to tell Arthur you’re fine. Keep him working.”

Elena laughed. “Merlin would love that.”

Finally, Elena popped the vial open and downed the potion in one, making a face as she swallowed the last of it. There were no visible clues that the potion had worked, but Elena’s face brightened and her posture changed, standing just a little bit taller, her shoulders pulled back. 

“Oh my god.”

“Is it OK?”

“So much more than OK,” Elena said, flexing her fingers. “I didn’t even notice how much heavier it made me feel. I feel like I could run forever right now.” 

She darted forwards and wrapped her arms around Mithian, head buried in the crook of her neck for just a second. The hug was over before Mithian even had time to process the feeling of Elena’s hands splayed on her back, her breath against Mithian’s neck, the smell of her shampoo. 

“I can dance again!” Elena said, bouncing towards the bar. She turned up the music that had been playing at low volume in the background and began swaying her hips to the sounds of _All I Want for Christmas Is You_. 

Mithian couldn’t quite move. She just watched, still a little overcome by the lingering smell of Elena’s shampoo. 

“Someone should make Yule music,” Elena said as she danced her way effortlessly between the tables. “I’m stuck dancing to Christmas music and that’s just not OK.”

“Maybe you should get into that.”

“Can’t sing for shit, I’m afraid.”

“Well, you don’t have to sing them yourself, do you?” 

Elena’s hair swaying as she danced was hypnotising. 

“I think I’ll leave it to someone else,” Elena said, grabbing the stack of glasses she’d left at the table. She did a complicated shuffle of her feet as she carried them to the bar and dipped backwards, back arched and arms splayed to either side, after she’d successfully put them down. 

Mithian couldn’t fight her smile. “Now you’re just showing off.”

Turning around with a smug expression, Elena leaned back against the bar. “Maybe.” She fell quiet for a moment, looking away from Mithian, before she suddenly said, “hey. You’re staying for Yule, right?” 

“Yeah. Of course,” Mithian said before she could even think about it. 

Elena beamed. 

*

“Why am I doing this?” 

“Because it’s a great idea.” Elena pushed a stray hair from Mithian’s face. 

“It was your idea.”

“Yes, that was actually my point.”

Sophia tinkered with the camera, ignoring the discussion happening in front of it. She held up her hand and Elena pulled out of the frame. 

“Hello everyone!” Vivian said, her face bright and animated, like she’d just turned on a switch. “Today I’m here with someone who’s going to bring something that I’ve never had on this channel before. This is Mithian!”

“Hi!” Mithian said, giving an awkward wave to the camera. 

She had never felt so self-conscious in her life. How on earth did Vivian do this day in and day out? Her palms were getting sweaty.

“Mithian is excellent at potions and she’s here to show you three potions that are great to keep around for day to day issues.”

Behind the camera, Elena gave her two thumbs up and a goofy grin, so Mithian promptly missed her cue. 

*

_Yule_

Elena smacked Merlin’s hand away as he reached for the plum pudding. “Hey, blessings first!”

Merlin groaned. “You sound like my mum.”

Pulling the pudding out Merlin’s reach, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Someone has to be the responsible adult at this table. Where are the lights?”

“Got them here,” Sophia said and pulled them from a nearby drawer. 

The Yule log was the centrepiece of the table, surrounded by holly and pine cones. Sophia gently pushed each candle into place and took her place again, looking towards Elena. At Elena’s nod, she lit the first candle. 

“The wheel of the year is turning,” Elena said. “We welcome the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.”

Vivian spoke as soon as Sophia had lit the second candle. “The days grow longer, seasons end. Let the wisdom of years guide us once again.”

“The Holly King has fallen so the Oak King may reign,” Merlin said, voice steady. “We thank you, Holly King, for the season.”

Sophia’s face glowed orange in the light of the candles. “Honour to the Oak King for the turn of something new, the season’s birth with which we’ve been blessed.”

“We welcome the sun,” Arthur said, giving Merlin a brief look. Merlin squeezed his hand in reply. 

Elena turned to Mithian, a small, encouraging smile at her lips. Mithian swallowed and her eyes followed the movement of Sophia’s hand as she lit the last candle. 

“To another turn of the wheel,” she said, looking across the faces of these new acquaintances she hadn’t known when the sun turned last. “To another journey of the sun. May it see us through the next passage safely.”

Elena beamed and pushed the plum pudding towards Merlin. “The food magic works so much better after the blessings. That’s why your mother always told you to wait, Merlin.”

“I thought my mum always made that up.”

“What, food magic?”

“Yeah,” Merlin said, his mouth already full of plum pudding. 

“So, out of everything, food magic is the one thing that isn’t real?” Vivian said, eyebrows raised. 

“Food is just food, right? Magical in itself!”

“Just food, he says.” Elena looked at Mithian and shook her head. “Blasphemy, honestly.”

Sophia handed Mithian a plate of pudding. It seemed to almost glisten under the lights, like it looked just a little bit too good to be real. 

“Just like potions are just a collection of herbs?” Vivian said. 

“Mm, I’m eating, no time for this.”

“Control your boyfriend,” Vivian said to Arthur with a look of slight disgust. 

Tuning out the continued bickering, Mithian took a bite of the pudding. It melted on her tongue, perfectly moist and rich. There was something else about it too, something that filled her with a warmth from within. She felt lighter. The colours of the room were brighter. She smiled to herself. 

When she looked up, Elena was looking at her intently. “Good?” she said. 

“It’s amazing. You’re good at this!”

“Oh, it’s really easy.”

“You always do that.”

Elena tipped her head to the side. “Do what?”

“Downplay yourself and the stuff you do.”

Looking away for a moment, Elena shrugged. 

“You’re really good at this,” Mithian said. “The food magic stuff.”

Elena met her gaze and smiled softly. “Thank you.”

“Hey, Vivian!” Mithian called out between bites. “I have a new segment for you.”

Vivian looked up from her conversation with others and tipped back in her chair to meet Mithian’s eyes. 

“Elena can teach food magic!”

“That is the best idea,” Sophia interjected. “Her calming tea is the best, I’m like a lounging cat after two sips.”

“Oh god, I hate you,” Elena said to Mithian, eyes wide. “I can’t be on camera!”

“Consider it revenge for putting _me_ on camera.”

Mithian had never celebrated Yule much. She’d light a candle and say a blessing for the return of the sun, and spend some time making potions, making use of magic of change. She’d never truly spent it with anyone else and she found herself watching the others as the night passed, quietly taking in the easy conversation until tables were cleared and Merlin was wrapping Arthur in his warm coat. 

“This was nice,” Elena said after Vivian and Sophia disappeared out the door, hand in hand. 

“It really was.”

Elena moved up behind the bar and put two glasses on the counter between them. “Drink?” When Mithian nodded, she turned to the shelves. “Any requests?”

Mithian leaned against the bar. “Surprise me.”

“Daring.”

“Well, you know. Only one life, better make it count.”

Elena turned to the bar, arms full of bottles, and put them down one by one. She began mixing drinks, her face set in concentration. The movements were practised, and Mithian was caught up in the oddly beautiful fluidity of it all. 

“So when are you leaving, then?” 

Caught off guard, Mithian just watched her in silence for a moment. “I always leave at a new moon.”

“Of course you do,” Elena said, shaking her head. 

Mithian frowned. “What?” 

“Nothing. It’s just… Don’t you ever wonder why you keep leaving?”

“I like new beginnings.”

“So, new moons.”

“Yeah.”

Elena looked like she wanted to say something, but she just shook her head again, blonde hair falling into her eyes only to be tucked back behind her ear. 

No one ever really understood Mithian’s need to always keep going. She hadn’t expected Elena to understand either, but for some reason it hurt a little that Elena didn’t. Mithian had never known how to explain the freedom of starting fresh when the moon magic was starting afresh too. It was unlike any other power. 

But the thought of leaving this time—it wasn’t quite the same. 

She studied Elena’s face, unable to look away even as Elena handed her the finished drink. Elena met her gaze, unwavering, with a look of challenge in her eyes. 

Maybe it was the magic of the solstice that made her feel the deep pull in her gut, or maybe it was something else. But it reminded her that it wasn’t just the moon starting afresh in a week’s time: the sun was moving towards longer days again. 

Another fresh beginning. 

Another surge of freedom. 

Mithian put her glass down, braced her hands against the bar and leaned across it, slowly brushing her lips across Elena’s. She lingered in the kiss, her heart beating frantically, and she pulled away just a little, licking her lips. A moment later, Elena’s hands were cupping her face as she came back into the kiss, open-mouthed. Mithian’s fingers whitened as she gripped at the rough wood of the bar, her pulse racing as she met Elena’s tongue with her own. 

Elena made an impatient sound and pressed closer, her fingers pressing into Mithian’s skin. The bar dug into Mithian’s hips, but she ignored it, twisting her hands into Elena’s dress. 

“Oh, for the love of—” Elena climbed onto the bar to get closer, only breaking the kiss as she manoeuvred to sit down, legs splayed, pulling Mithian into the space. 

Mithian took the opportunity to press her lips to Elena’s neck, mouthing at her sensitive skin. She pressed closer, nosing at her jawline, overwhelmed by the proximity. Elena wrapped her arms around Mithian’s back in a surprisingly strong grip, her hands warm where they splayed against her. Mithian breathed in deep, darting her tongue out to lick at Elena’s skin. 

“Is this a goodbye?” Elena asked, voice low. 

Mithian looked up, finding her eyes. “No, I—No. Thought maybe, maybe I’ll use the solstice to change. Do something else. Like…”

Elena’s hand slid over her neck and into her hair, fingers twisting in it. “Like?” 

“Staying, maybe.”

A smile broke out across Elena’s face and Mithian had to kiss it, getting as much teeth as she got lips. Elena shook with silent laughter and kissed her back, slow and deep. It suddenly felt absurd that she’d ever thought of leaving, ever thought of not being the one that Elena kissed like this. 

Elena held a hand at Mithian’s jaw, slowing the kiss down to an unbearable moment, their lips brushing, tongues just barely meeting, until Mithian couldn’t take it any longer. She took control of it, kissing her so ferociously that Elena had to steady herself with a hand on the bar. Elena moaned, her breath coming fast, and Mithian felt like the room was suddenly two hundred degrees too hot. 

She put her hand at Elena’s knee and slid it slowly up her bare thighs, up under her skirt. She didn’t quite know where she was going with this, where Elena wanted to go with this, but she just knew she couldn’t stop this here. It just wasn’t enough, even as Elena’s kisses turned desperate and messy. 

Elena’s thigh was soft and hot under her skirt, and Mithian paused midway up, her thumb drawing small circles on the inside of it. 

“Don’t stop,” Elena whispered against her lips. 

Mithian swallowed back a groan and moved her hand slowly upwards until she brushed Elena’s cotton panties. Elena’s breath hitched as she splayed her legs wider, balancing precariously on the edge of the bar. Mithian ran her finger along the lining. 

“Is this—?”

“Yeah,” Elena said, breathless. 

She pulled the panties aside, sliding her fingers between Elena’s wet lips and they both sucked in a breath, stilling against each other. 

“Yes,” Elena said, hand clutching at Mithian’s shoulder. “Yes.”

Mithian pressed her lips to the hinge of Elena’s jaw, breathing heavily against her skin as she slid two fingers inside—so easy. She whimpered softly against Elena’s skin as she began pushing into her steadily, feeling Elena’s thighs shake. Elena pushed up against her, breath coming erratically. 

“Oh, god,” Elena said, her voice high. “Oh.”

“You’re so—”

Elena hummed in response even though Mithian couldn’t even finish her thought. 

Mouth open in a silent groan, Elena began to grind down onto Mithian’s hand, hips moving desperately. The warm heat around Mithian’s fingers made her head spin and she squeezed her legs together, trying to relieve some of the throbbing pressure between them. 

With a last, erratic thrust of her hips, Elena shook apart around her fingers, completely silent at first until she gave a string of shaky moans. 

Mithian barely had time to process it before Elena had slid down from the bar and onto her knees, turning Mithian around with her back pressed to the bar in the process. 

“Oh, god, what are you doing?” Mithian said, breathless. 

Elena looked up at her, lips red and swollen. “Just making _really_ sure you’ll stay.”


End file.
